Sean Gathright Speaks Before Sentencing For Murdering Julio Foolio

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: I just thank you once again for allowing me the opportunity. I prepared just a little something. I worked kind of thoughtfully on pretty thoughtfully on it. So I just ask that you allow your discretion for me to. Yeah, no, go ahead. Thank you. As long as it's respectful. Yes, ma'am. All right. Here we are being sentenced for the murder of Charles Jones on the day he was killed two years later. Now, some may say this is a just a coincidence, but I believe that nothing has been is or ever will be left up to chance and that everything in this world is predestined. And there are many biblical promises of that belief holding true. Jeremiah 1:5 says before you were formed in the womb, I knew you before you were born. I set you apart. And Jeremiah 29:11 says, I know the plans I have for you plans for good and not for disaster. And Romans 8:28 says, we know all things work together for good to those who love God and are called to his purpose. And there are many more just like them. God has full sovereignty over our lives. He chooses our times of peace and prosperity, our times of joy and laughter, but he also chooses our traumas and our tribulations, not to punish and tear us apart, but to strengthen our character and our faith. Everyone wonders how and why I ended up in a situation like this, despite growing up with a loving family, nice home, multiple opportunities and promising potential. Some act as if it is impossible or unheard of for someone like me to find themselves in a situation like this. But in reality, it is much more common than we think has been happening long before today. There is a parable Jesus shared with the world, called the prodigal son, a son who had the nice home, loving family, servants. He had his every need catered to. Yet he still chose to take his inheritance and venture off to a far country where he indulged in prodigal living. He soon ran down on money and a famine had struck the land he was in. And while that would have been enough signs for most to turn back, his eyes still hadn't opened, and he still hadn't come to his senses. Hungry and desperate, he found a job on the farm feeding pigs. And during these times, pigs and what they were fed were deemed as the filthiest, most impure, lowest of the low, and worst of the worst. But he was so hungry and so blind that the food he fed the pigs looked appetizing. That's when he finally came to his senses. He realized that even the servants back home had enough food to spare, yet here he is dying of hunger amongst pigs. After this eye-opening experience, he decided to return home. He was ashamed and planned to go to his father to ask for forgiveness and to become one of his servants because he no longer felt worthy to be called his son. But when he returned, his father embraced him with love and compassion, dressed him in the finest clothes and jewels, and celebrated his son's return with a feast, exclaiming, "This son of mine was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and is now found." It is not uncommon for good young men who come from good families to get lost in this world. But discontentment often leads these good young men astray. When scholars and historians look back on our times, I believe they will label us as the age of discontentment. And those of us who come from privileged upbringings are actually disadvantaged to the fight against it. Because of the high expectations, any opportunities and options we grow up with, we don't know what struggle looks like. Or how hard our parents had to work to provide these opportunities for us. We don't know what we have until it's gone. And it often happens after we go through our own eye-opening experience. Never in history has there been a time like now where there is so much available and so easy to consume, but we still demand more. And it is clearly seen in my generation. Young men and women want to grow up faster to try to keep up with the influencers that are idolized. And this is in part due to us being so susceptible. A study done by the National Institute of Mental Health provided evidence showing that the brain doesn't reach full maturity until 26 to 27 years old for men. About 8 or 9 years older than my time during the offense. But society knows this. And that's why laws set age requirements on certain activities, amenities, and substances as a way to protect adolescent adults. Yet those same laws don't extend to an adolescent adult when they are charged with crimes and allows them to be prosecuted to the fullest extent, regardless of their age. Your Honor, it is heartbreaking that an 18-year-old can't rent a car or a hotel or buy a home, but can be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. They can't purchase alcohol or tobacco, but can be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. They can't work certain jobs or even go on a cruise without a chaperone, but can be sentenced to death without life or life in prison without possibility of parole. And I'm a prime example of these circumstances. At 18 years old, with no prior convictions, I was charged, indicted, and had to face the death penalty. My point is, society views anyone under the age of 21 as not being mentally mature enough to participate or partake in these activities, amenities, and substances. Because certain substances listed can negatively impact or stunt the growth of a developing brain. While other activities and amenities have restrictions due to the lack of impulse and behavioral control or lack of situational awareness at times with teens. And it's very simple to understand that our brains have not developed enough. That we live in a society where someone under the age of 21 can be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole. Leave no room for growth, rehabilitation, or redemption. We don't account for the fact that they weren't a fully developed adult and their judgment and decision-making abilities weren't developed either. I believe it is cruel for someone under the age of 21 to be sentenced to life without parole or death before they're even old enough to be fully emancipated or to fully comprehend what consequences their actions carry. I say all this because I want to see change. Change for those whose fates were sealed long before they were born. Change for the prodigal sons and daughters who ventured off too far in the world and got lost. Change for those who haven't reached full maturity or unlocked their full potential as adults. Change for the ones who never had the option to go around, over, or underneath, or straight through their obstacles. In spite of my current circumstances, I still trust in all those biblical promises. And I believe that I am exactly where God planned for me to be. A plan he created long before I was born. It is also my belief that this chapter of my life will propel me to a much greater purpose than what we see here today. Because my journey has just begun. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Gaffrey.